Life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a pretty wise guy. He gets quoted all the time by people trying to sound like they know what they are talking about, so when he says something (from beyond the grave!) I listen. But [...]

Posted in Featured, Frugality ~ 5 Comments

My wife and I budget. Well, that is not technically true. I build spreadsheets and crunch numbers and think of areas where we can shave off a few dollars here or there, but my wife is actually the one in the trenches making our family budget work. If it wasn’t for her [...]

Posted in Budgets, Featured ~ No Comments

Bad planning does not constitute an emergency plan.
Anonymous
As per my family’s commitment to live debt free for the purpose of changing the world we have set up an emergency fund. This fund currently contains just about three months of our household expenses, including the amount that we save each month for our irregular expenses. [...]

Posted in Featured, Frugality ~ No Comments

Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses? - Ebenezer Scrooge
Being in debt is simply no good - and if you lived in the 19th century it meant you went to live in a very unpleasant place where you were forced to stay (and pay rent!) until your family could pay off your [...]

Posted in Featured, Frugality ~ 8 Comments